


Never Trust a Criminal

by songbook



Series: In A Bar Far, Far Away [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 23:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songbook/pseuds/songbook
Summary: In a bar far, far away...Han Solo makes a deal with a young woman calling herself Liana Hallik.





	Never Trust a Criminal

The bar at Five Points Station in the Outer Rim looked like every other bar in the galaxy. It was filled with the same variety of low life scum that was featured on any planet. There was nothing spectacular about, nor anything particularly dangerous. Which made it the perfect place to do business. 

Han had arrived a little over an hour ago and had found a seat in a corner booth, partially obscured by smoke and the crowd around him. It had taken some convincing, but Chewie had stayed on the ship with Lando. This was a one-man job and the hulking Wookie would draw attention and attention was the last thing a smuggler wanted. 

Today, he wasn’t after cargo. They already had the cargo. The problem was getting said cargo to the Mid Rim without getting caught. The Empire had tightened control over the local shipping routes because of suspected transports of enemies of the Emperor. Han didn’t care about the Empire or the Alliance. He had richer clientele. 

What he needed today was papers to get through the blockade without question. A friend of Lando’s had given them the name of a forger: Liana Hallik. And she was late. Han had purposefully arrived early. Lando’s friends weren’t always trustworthy and if it benefited them to turn the smugglers in for a pretty price, they wouldn’t hesitate to do so. But besides the squadron of Storm Troopers assigned to the Station he had seen after he had docked the shuttle, Han hadn’t seen any cause for concern. 

There were plenty of women in the bar and as far as Han knew, any one of them could be Hallik. All he had to go on was humanoid female, pale skin, dark hair. Han was wearing a faded red bandanna around his neck. It would be up to Hallik to approach him. That had been one of her very few conditions. The other two had been selecting this bar and that he come alone. 

He wondered if she had gotten scared off or if this was a trap. He figured any trouble he ran into in such a public place, he could handle and if not, Lando and Chewie would get him out at some point. Another reason he left Chewie with Lando on the Falcon. Chewie would come back for him; Lando would take off with the Falcon. 

The scratching noise of a chair being dragged over startled Han. The girl who sat down in front of him couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. Dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her bangs fell across her face. Hard green eyes started at him and the girl said, “You Solo?” 

“Hallik,” he stated, glancing her up and down. She wore a dirty shirt and even dirtier pants. Only the dark jacket she sported seemed to be in good shape. Her nails were dirty and bitten down to the fingers. “Not what I expected.” 

“I don’t care,” she replied in a bored tone. “You have the creds?” 

“Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” said Han coolly, but he didn’t move to extract the payment from his coat. He didn’t trust anyone he worked with, certainly not a twenty-year old kid with an attitude problem. Of course, it was only ten years ago that the same could have been said about him. 

Hallik was ready to get to business though. She leaned forward and pulled a small bundle from the bag she had slung over her shoulder. When she bent over, her necklace fell out her shirt and the object caught Han’s attention. Over the years, Han had smuggled a number of unusual items, including relics from the Clone Wars and the time of the Jedi. 

What hung from the girl’s neck was unmistakably a Kyber Crystal. He knew that there were many followers of the Church of the Force and the old ideas of the Jedi. The Jedi and the Empire had used kyber to power their weapons, but it was scarce now. The Emperor and the Sith had made sure of that. That necklace could make Han a lot more than the cargo he had with him. 

As Hallik laid a few data pads on the table between them, Han asked, “How much for the necklace?” He wondered if she even knew it’s worth. 

The glare told him she did. Hallik tucked it back into her shirt and replied shortly, “It’s not for sale.” 

Han raised an eyebrow but didn’t press his luck. Even if Hallik didn’t know it’s worth in the galaxy, it obviously meant something to her. Instead, he pulled the bag of credit chips from his jacket and set it in front of him. “Let’s see what you brought me.” 

The glare was gone and Hallik was all business. “I’ve got permission for one cargo ship to enter Mid Rim space within one week’s time. I have two documents for two humanoid males for passage to Haidoral Prime-”

“We aren’t going to Haidoral Prime,” growled Han. “I asked for-”

“Once you’re on Haidoral Prime, it’s an easy jump to Kashyyk. No one is going to ask any questions once you get to the Mid Rim.” She had a good point. And it would be harder for anyone to track where they were actually going. 

“Fine.” 

She continued, shuffling the pads. “This is for thirty crates of namana liquor. Storm troopers aren’t going to know the difference between any sort of liquid, just make sure your labels match the paperwork. Any questions?”

Han shook his head and pushed the credits across the table. Hallik exchanged it for the pads and Han saw as she slipped it into her bag, that there was another dozen pads in it. She probably had other clients on the station. Han raised his glass and asked, “You wanna stay for a drink?” 

He was pretty sure she rolled her eyes and it made him smirk. The girl had the right idea; you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. She stood and just gave him a little nod. “Until the next time.” 

“Until the next time,” Han agreed, but both of them knew they would probably never see each other again. Can’t trust anyone in this business, thought Han. Which reminded him that he had left Lando on the Falcon for far too long. He let her leave first and after a few minutes, left the bar. 

Han had made it about half way back to the shuttle when he saw a group of storm troopers at the end of a hallway. There was a lot of shouting and he could see someone was struggling to break free from restraints. One trooper was on the ground, but the other three had managed to regain control of their prisoner. 

“You are under arrest for possession of forged Imperial documents and assault of an officer.” Han heard and his grip tightened on his coat. He could see clearly now that the prisoner was Liana Hallik. His heart sank a little at the thought of her being locked up. She seemed like a good kid. But then again, she had known the risks involved with forging, just as Han knew the risks involved with smuggling. Which is why he turned on his heel and took the long way back to his shuttle. 

The shuttle ride to the Falcon was uneventful and left Han wondering what would happen to Hallik. If she had a rap sheet, she could end up on one of the labor farms. That made him grimace. Chewie greeted him at the airlock when he docked. Han found Lando in the cockpit, sitting in his chair with his feet propped up on the dash board. 

“Hey!” he growled as he took a swipe at the other man’s feet. 

Lando just flashed him a smile and asked, “You get the papers?” 

“Yeah, and not a moment too soon. The girl got caught about ten minutes after we made the deal.” He tossed the pads into Lando’s lap. 

“Good. I got a little worried that it took so long. But you’ll be happy to know we didn’t waste any credits,” Lando said with a wink. Chewie made an indignant sound behind him; something about two timing someone. 

“What are you talking about?” 

Lando produced a bag similar to the one Han had handed Hallik earlier and poured gold credit chips on the console. Before Han could even ask, his partner said, “Seems some Imperial Officers are on the lookout for a forger who had been compromising Imperial ships on the station. Goes by a few names: Jyn, Tanith Ponta, Lyra, and Liana Hallik.” 

“You turned her in,” replied Han, disgusted. 

Lando just shrugged. “They were paying a pretty price.” 

“Never trust a criminal,” muttered Han under his breath as Lando let him have his seat back and he started up the Falcon. Silently, he wished Liana or Lyra or Jyn, or whoever she was, luck. She was going to need it.

**Author's Note:**

> Liana Hallik is one of the aliases Jyn Erso used. She was arrested in the Five Point System and taken to a labor camp where she would be rescued six months later by Rebel forces. And you know the rest of the story. I just had a little fun.


End file.
